Some nob stole my gear knob!

[cyber_scriber]

During compliance, it was discovered that some wharf ninjas liked the look of my polished aluminium gear knob (pic attached) and have decided to take it so they can polish the knob in their own good time.

The compliance shop, importer and shipping company all say the same thing - sh!t happens and it's just a cost of doing business (i.e. my cost!). I am told that this is a very common practice and that goodies are stolen from cars in transit all the time.

It's pretty frustrating that we have a system that legitimises systematic theft and that the customer is expected to cop this on the chin.

I now wonder what else has been "accidently" removed from the car during transit *Bruce half expects to see his car on bricks with the Recaros gone*.

Have any of you had this problem?

On a secondary note, Ebay has gear knobs starting from $10 up to "we'll take your first born for one". However, I am after a replacement gear knob that is guaranteed to be an easy and direct fit for the manual Galant.

Can someone offer some suggestions or point me in the right direction for a replacement gear knob?

 

[matchtheclown]

The cheaper ones will have a plastic sleeve that cuts a thread on the stick.

Even my RAZO one is made like this.

My car also came with no shift knob. Exact same story as you. On the car in Japan photo's. Gone once in Oz.

Such is life it seems.

 

[Hotwire]

You only lost a gear knob? You're lucky! Steve (nissy) lost a whole boot full of spares - wheels, exhaust, interior bits so count yourself VERY lucky thats all you lost

 

[Peter_D]

I've had the same thing happen to me. Funny thing was a few years back I get a note on my car with a phone number saying spare parts for your car cheap. So I called the number and arranged to met with the guy.

I set the time and place. Being the sus type I turned up early and waited across the street. Pretty much on time the guy pulls up and gets out of his car still in his work wear. No prizes for guessing what was written on his hy-vis shirt, PATRICK'S BRISBANE. I then called the guy and told him I was held up and couldn't meet with him.

I recognized the guys car and had seen him heading off to work early in the mornings often wearing the same type of shirt.

Several weeks later the guy pulled into the pump next to mine as I was filling up. I gave him a nod and said, "I see you work on the docks. Can you get me a set of gauges". The guy gave me a sly grin and said, "you name it and I can get it for any car you want."

Absolutely NOTHING is safe. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Funnily enough I haven't seen the guy around for a long time now. I can only hope that him and his thieving mates got sprung and are doing time. Small chance of that no doubt.

 

[king_panther]

No prizes for guessing what was written on his hy-vis shirt, PATRICK'S BRISBANE

Oh, but I thought good ol' Johnny Howard's reforms helped Patrick clear the docks of all the evil union workers & replaced them with good, honest people doing an honest days work for an honest days pay ?

I reckon I had awesome stuff in my car before it got on the docks...

 

[BuzzPuppy]

18" set of SSR rims went missing out of Loki. The Pioneer Carrozerria GPS kit/LCD screen/TV Tuner was fine, but is not much good (except the CD player) in Australia.

 

[Kristian]

My GT-R was given very special treatment by Kiwi Car Carriers when it came over, only to have the turbo timer and Nismo gear knob nicked by the theiving little pricks who do the steam cleaning and quarantine.

Believe it or not, they even had CCTV of the car being driven away into a different shed when it didn't need to be, and the police still washed their hands of it, because the footage didn't show them actually removing the parts. Combine that with the fact that the docks are federal land, not state, and it gets put in the too hard basket by everyone.

 

[BuzzPuppy]

GAH, that's just so wrong, considering that you've been eyeing off that car for ... forever!

 

[matchtheclown]

The moral to this tale is... get a job at the docks?

 

[mookers]

The moral to this tale is... get a job at the docks?

Note to self: Never leave Hugh alone with my car

 

[Gooch]

Warfie ninja's

Fn knobs - the lot of them. Hate the fkrs with a passion not like they dont get paid enough anyway they deserve to be fkd up the rrs by a thousand HIV infected africans and then eaten alive by some african cannibals!

I have contacts in the TV industry that would love to break this open however I was talked out of it out of respect for the importers and the additional pressure/ scrutiny it would put on them under.

Would be good to have a pole on who has lost stuff but!

Maybe with the pole we could feed this back to the importers, Which sites and carriers are the worst!

Unfortunately they most prolly the cheapest as well : (

 

[Kristian]

Unfortunately they're all as bad as each other, because the workers here on the docks are the thieving little pricks, not the crews on the boats. Because the same people unload all the boats, it doesn't matter which one it comes in on.

The shipping companies get just as annoyed about it as we do, because it reflects badly on them. Having managed to convince one company to install cameras right across the docks, they were told that the unions wouldn't have a bar of it and the workers would strike if they chose to put them in.

 

[Guest]

No doubt this pilfering also happens beyond the docks

 

[SiliconAngel]

Its the same kind of corrupt BS that goes on in every industry, its just that you're more aware of this because it actually affects you guys personally. Personally I'd love to see this blow up and end up sitting on the desk of police ministers all over the country with a big 'Please Explain' stamped on it, with reporters baying for blood. Not that it will actually change anything in this country (this kind of thing is so endemic in Australia, its almost cultural), but it would be fun to watch

 

[dimi_108]

I think it's happened to every single one of us who have imported our cars.

In my case, my complete set of factory floor mats were pinched.
Not that I could give a rats, but i still would have been happy to have them.

I feel so slack for Nissy, though. I'd be gutted if I lost a set of wheels, an exhaust and a shit load of spares.

The thing is, I was looking for a set of factory BBS wheels off the pre-facelift VR-4's and I asked Ben (J-Spec) if he'd be able to source a set and have them put in the car to be shipped over together.
Luckily he wasn't able to find a set for me before the ship left the docks because after this experience, i can pretty much guarantee that they'd be missing in action, too.

This issue of "things going missing at the docks" isn't going to stop me from importing in the future. I'll just pay the extra cash to organise for any important accessories or bonus spares to be shipped seperately.

 

[matchtheclown]

Its the same kind of corrupt BS that goes on in every industry, its just that you're more aware of this because it actually affects you guys personally. Personally I'd love to see this blow up and end up sitting on the desk of police ministers all over the country with a big 'Please Explain' stamped on it, with reporters baying for blood. Not that it will actually change anything in this country (this kind of thing is so endemic in Australia, its almost cultural), but it would be fun to watch

It's not all that bad. Unions are basically dead in the mining industry the docks will go eventually.

There are few arguments for their value these days.

 

[cyber_scriber]

After reading about how common this experience is, I think it's a disgrace that we have a system that allows these vultures to pick at our cars without any real recourse to the customer.

If there is no accountability anywhere in this process, then it will just continue happening. It's nothing more than entrenched, and almost sanctioned theft.

I was previously saying to the Chef that surely we aren't in the position where we have to remove any goodies not bolted down in Japan and then ship then separately and securely to Australia?

 

[bradc]

OMG DIMI, someone stole your hi-vis!!!!!

 

[cyber_scriber]

You only lost a gear knob? You're lucky! Steve (nissy) lost a whole boot full of spares - wheels, exhaust, interior bits so count yourself VERY lucky thats all you lost

Lee, in the context of what has happened to others, I agree that I'm "lucky". However, I think it's sad that we will accept the theft of anything from our cars.

Our cars are our property, paid for with our hard earned cash. Would we accept a house maid stealing items from our homes? Surely not!

 

[cyber_scriber]

I've had the same thing happen to me. Funny thing was a few years back I get a note on my car with a phone number saying spare parts for your car cheap. So I called the number and arranged to met with the guy.

I set the time and place. Being the sus type I turned up early and waited across the street. Pretty much on time the guy pulls up and gets out of his car still in his work wear. No prizes for guessing what was written on his hy-vis shirt, PATRICK'S BRISBANE. I then called the guy and told him I was held up and couldn't meet with him.

I recognized the guys car and had seen him heading off to work early in the mornings often wearing the same type of shirt.

Several weeks later the guy pulled into the pump next to mine as I was filling up. I gave him a nod and said, "I see you work on the docks. Can you get me a set of gauges". The guy gave me a sly grin and said, "you name it and I can get it for any car you want."

Absolutely NOTHING is safe. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Funnily enough I haven't seen the guy around for a long time now. I can only hope that him and his thieving mates got sprung and are doing time. Small chance of that no doubt.

Theft, larceny, dealing in stolen goods - why aren't the police all over this? That's right. It's just car hoons being affected and it's all too hard.